May 16, 2004

"Thanks for shopping at Babies R Us"

Fabulous Babe's parents hit the road pretty early today. (He needs to spray the corn on Monday.) That gave us a chance to regroup and organize from the crazy pace of Saturday.

First up was an inventory of all things received. We got a few duplicates so we sorted out the receipts and made a small pile of things to be returned. After that we made a full accounting of what we had received.

Then we had figure out what was on the immediate "must have" list in case of FB chucking the next 43 days at a moments notice and going into early labor. We compared registry lists, decided on what the show stoppers were and then hit the road.

Our first stop, Target, yielded a Boppy Pillow and a couple of minor items. The Target registry system is pretty easy to use but woe to anyone who attempts to print a registry list. I think I know where my 1979 Epson MX-80 printer ended up. I take that back. My MX-80 was a heck of a lot faster.

The next shopping stop was the ugly one: Babies R Us.

Just walking into the place can give normal men hives. You get over it after a while but it is still fun to see the men trailing around behind wives and girlfriends in various stages of pudgery directing them here and there like a movie director. (Once a woman becomes pregnant your decision making authority as the man responsible really does chuck right out the window.) By the time we left we bought:

A.) A diaper bag. I found out that a backpack style bag was a resounding "No." In a sick twist of fate the one we bought turned out to be slashed in a way that we missed. *sigh* Another trip at some point in the next 14 days.

B.) A car seat. I want to tell you of my woe and pain but despise people that wail and carry on. I'll just say that whatever muckwit at Babies R Us that stocks a style of seat without the matching stroller needs to be raked over coals sooner than later.

C.) In buying the seat we decided to go ahead and get the matching stroller. (See the above complaint for why.) My first car, a 1975 Dodge Swinger, wasn't nearly as nice. Peg Perrego must be an arm of Ferrari. Their pricing models are similar.

D.) A swing. Not just any swing but one with a remote control. *SCORE* I'm trying to figure out if I can program the universal remote with the correct functions. Hmmm. I'll set up a macro. TV, DVD, Receiver and the baby swing.

E.) A nightgown. Ooooh mama. Floor length. About the only thing this victorian wonder doesn't cover are the feet and face. No matching veil.

F.) A dresser / changing station. Oak. Heavy Oak. Ugh.

If any of you have the mythical 20% off coupon that Babies R Us Mailed out please send me one. Please. I can go back with the receipt and retro it. At the rate things are going I am running out of trains to sell. ;-)

When we got home the next three hours were spent assembling and cleaning. When we were done both of us were pretty well aware that within the next month we were going to be parents.